


Putting my defenses up

by wemovealong



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Fluff, Implied Mpreg, M/M, Mpreg
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-16
Updated: 2014-06-16
Packaged: 2018-02-04 20:33:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1792303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wemovealong/pseuds/wemovealong
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Niall has a secret. Harry likes him anyway.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Putting my defenses up

**Author's Note:**

> so just like the other mpreg fics that i've written, mpreg is just a thing that happens  
> don't question, just accept the mpreg lol
> 
> title is from 'heart attack' by demi lovato

One thing about having a baby is that you gain your own personal alarm clock.

They had a routine, Niall and Stella. Every morning – six a.m. right on the dot – Stella would begin to cry, demanding to be fed. 

Today was no different, of course. 

“Shh,” Niall whispers to his little girl as she whimpers around the bottle he’s trying to feed her. “It’s okay, drink up. Daddy’s got you.” 

Niall happens to catch his reflection in his closet mirror across from him where he’s sat on his bed. He looks exhausted. He can see the dark rings under his eyes just from where he’s sat. 

Just thinking about how tired he is makes him yawn. 

When Stella is finished with her bottle, he walks around their small, shared room, trying to burp her and trying to keep himself awake. 

“Can’t fall back asleep again today, can I?” Niall says out loud. 

Stella makes a content-sounding noise in reply and Niall smiles. 

“Nope, daddy’s going to school,” Niall says with pretend excitement. 

He doesn’t really want to go back but at least he’ll be a new school this year and not his last one. The Christian all-boys school that he had attended hadn’t exactly been pleased when they had found out about his pregnancy. They wanted to kick Niall out but his father defended his honor and raised hell about the matter. He got to stay, unfortunately. 

“And you’re going to daycare,” Niall continues. “That’ll be fun, right?” 

Stella finally burps but accidently spits up down Niall’s back. 

Niall sighs. At least he had learned over time to feed and burp her shirtless. 

He cleans her up, puts on a cute new outfit for her to wear for her first day at her new daycare, and then lays her back down in her crib so that he can have a quick shower. 

Another thing about having a baby is that you really learn to conserve water. Niall could hardly leave the room without Stella noticing when she was a newborn. It was like she could sense him trying to leave so she would cry to make sure that Niall stayed there with her. 

Niall showers in record time as per usual and throws on his new school uniform. He grabs his school bag and Stella’s diaper bag and then gets Stella so they can head downstairs. 

“Morning,” he says to his dad who is sitting at the kitchen table eating toast and reading The Sun. 

“These brits are fucking crazy,” Bobby tells him, flipping to the next page. 

Niall laughs. 

They had only just moved to England a few months ago. 

Bobby had told Niall that he had gotten a job offer in England and Niall begged him to let him and Stella move with him. 

It’s not that he hated living in Ireland because Niall fucking loved Ireland. He just needed to get away from all the stupid lads from school. He and Stella needed a fresh start. 

“I made you some toast,” Bobby tells him, pushing a plate towards Niall. 

Niall shakes his head. “Don’t got time but thanks.” 

Bobby shrugs and takes the piece of toast for himself. 

Niall makes his way out the door, sets up Stella in her carseat, and then sets off to the new daycare. 

-&-

“So I’ve got her diapers and stuff in here,” Niall says, handing over Stella’s diaper bag. “Her favourite teddy bear is in there. She likes to sleep with it.” He was starting to ramble. He doesn’t want to leave her.

“Alright love,” Lou, the daycare owner, smiles at him. She takes the bag but Niall doesn’t give her Stella just yet. 

“She sleeps a lot, eats a lot, um, poops a lot..” Niall continues. “Normal baby things I guess.” 

Lou nods. “Nothing I can’t handle my dear.” 

Niall bites his lip, supposes he should probably say goodbye so that he isn’t late for his first day of classes. 

“You’re gonna be a good girl?” Niall says to his sleepy daughter. She is so much like him, such a laidback baby. “You’re not gonna spit up on Lou, right? No, you wouldn’t do that. You’ll save that for daddy.” 

Niall kisses her on the cheek and she giggles. 

“I’m gonna miss you,” Niall says to her with a big smile. “Gonna be thinking about you all day.” 

He finally passes her over to Lou. She doesn’t cry, thankfully. If she had started, Niall probably would’ve started crying right there too. He really doesn’t want to leave her. 

“I promise you that she’s safe here,” Lou says to him with a reassuring smile. “Now you go off and get to class.” 

Niall nods. “I love you baby girl,” he tells Stella before making himself leave the daycare. 

He cries on the way to school. 

He doesn’t want to go. He’d much rather spend the day at home with Stella. 

His eyes are red-rimmed by the time he gets there. He looks like he’s been smoking up. 

“Fantastic,” Niall mutters to his reflection in his rearview mirror. 

He finally hauls himself out of his car and makes his way inside the school. 

Niall sits quietly through his first class. He gets a few stares. He hopes it’s because he’s new and not because of the bit of baby weight he’s still trying to lose. 

It’s weird being around so many people again. He literally spent the past few months cooped up at home with Stella. He had no friends. She was all that he had. 

His next class is going to be torture. Physical education. He sighs to himself. 

Niall makes his way towards the change room. 

He used to love PE back in Ireland. Loved playing football, loved running around. Loved giving head to other lads in the showers after class…

Niall’s too lost in his thoughts and accidently bumps into someone. 

“Shit, sorry mate,” he says quickly. He looks to see who he’s collided with. _Fuck_.

Tall, curly brown hair, big green eyes, _those lips_ …

“S’alright,” the boy smiles at him. “I don’t think we’ve met before? I’m Harry.” 

“Wow,” is what accidently slips out of Niall’s mouth. His eyes widen and usually pink cheeks go even pinker. “I mean, um..” He is mentally slapping himself right now. “Niall. I’m Niall.” 

Harry smiles brightly. “Irish?” 

Niall nods. 

“Cute,” Harry whispers. He turns around to open the change room door. 

Niall doesn’t know what just happened but his heart is racing. He follows Harry through the door anyway. 

The room is loud and full of half naked teenage boys, including Harry who has started to strip himself of his jumper. Niall swallows hard and heads to the toilets to change. 

He doesn’t want anyone to see the stretch marks on his stomach. His mother hadn’t been kidding when she told him that he should really be using some lotion to prevent them. Of course he didn’t listen. 

It’s not that Niall hates how his body looks…

Okay, he knows that’s a lie. He does. 

Stella was worth it though. He just wished that he had listened to his mother a bit more. He hates when his parents are right about things. 

The class all heads outside to the field. Niall watches Harry walking with two other lads. 

The teacher tells them to grab a partner and practice passing a football between them. 

Niall just stands there. 

Back in Ireland, everyone wanted to be Niall’s partner. He was one of the best football players in his class. 

He doesn’t know anyone here though and he’s hasn’t played footie in so long now. He couldn’t play while he was pregnant and he didn’t have the time or effort after he gave birth. 

“Hey mate,” Harry says, walking over to him. “Partners?” 

Niall smiles shyly. “Okay.” 

Harry grabs them a ball and leads them over to a free spot on the field. 

They start to kick the ball to each other. Niall learns quickly that Harry is uncoordinated and just utterly terrible at football. He finds it endearing. 

“So are you from Ireland then?” Harry asks after a while. 

Niall nods. “Just moved here.” 

_Don’t ask why_. _Don’t ask why_.

“Why here?” 

Niall bites the inside of his cheek. 

“Um, my dad just got a new job here is all.” 

Harry nods. He doesn’t ask any more questions. 

“You’re quite good at this by the way. I’m shit at football.” 

“You’re not too bad,” Niall tells him. 

“I am,” Harry laughs. 

“He really is.” Niall hears a voice laughing behind him. 

He turns around to see the two lads that Harry was walking with earlier. He assumes they’re Harry’s friends. 

“Heeeey,” Harry says with a pout. 

“So who’s your friend Harry?” 

Harry pout turns into a bright smile. 

“This is Niall. He’s Irish,” Harry tells them. “And Niall, these are two of my arsehole friends.” 

“Watch it, mate,” the smaller lad says. “I’m Louis.” 

“Liam,” the taller one pipes up. “You’re pretty good at footie, huh?” 

Niall face flushes a bit. “Er, not really.” 

“Sure ya are. You play in Ireland?” 

Niall shrugs. “A little bit.” 

“You should join our team.” 

Niall bites his lip. “Don’t think I can mate.” 

“Why not?” Louis asks with a frown. 

“At least try out,” Liam pleads. “We could really use someone like you.” 

“Um, I’ll think about it,” Niall tells them. 

The teacher blows his whistle and tells them that class is over. 

Niall changes back into his uniform in the toilets again. 

Harry invites Niall to eat lunch with him and the lads. 

-&-

Niall’s been in school for a month now. Things are going alright.

He’s got his and Stella’s morning routine perfected then he goes to school all day while she is at daycare and then he picks her up after classes and they both have a nice, long nap together before he makes dinner for himself and his dad and then he’s in bed by eight. He does this every day, even on weekends since he was able to get a part-time job at Tesco’s. 

It’s not the typical life for a seventeen year old, Niall knows that very much. 

“Come on, you have to come,” Louis whines. 

“You can’t miss out on _another_ party,” Liam tells him. 

This conversation happens every Friday at lunch. Louis has a girlfriend named Eleanor who throws a party every weekend because her parents are rich and go away a lot so she gets the house to herself all the time. 

Apparently everyone goes to her parties. All of his new friends. Their girlfriends. _Harry_.

Niall shakes his head again. “I told you, I’ve got to work the next day.” 

He wants to go, mainly so that he can spend time with Harry. He knows that he can’t though. He asked his dad the first time. He ended up getting a scolding about ‘responsibility’ and ‘being a parent’. 

“You don’t have to drink. You can still come and be good the next day.” 

“Or you could just, you know, not go to work,” Zayn adds. 

“Sophia says that Barbara is gonna be there,” Liam says, waggling his eyebrows at him as if that’s supposed to be encouraging. 

Harry makes a strangled noise. Niall looks up to see that he’s choked on some water. He has a frown on his face. 

Perrie told Zayn that Barbara told her that she thinks Niall is cute, and when Zayn told him that, he just kind of shrugged and said ‘yeah, I guess she’s nice’, so now all the lads think that he fancies Barbara too so they’re trying to set Niall up with her so that he can shag her. 

Well not all the lads at least. Harry stays quiet whenever they bring her up. 

Niall just shrugs. 

“You seriously want to stay home on a Friday night instead of getting some pussy?” Louis asks him. 

“Umm.” _Yes_? 

“Wait,” Zayn says, “have you never been with a girl or something? Is that it?” 

Niall’s face reddens. Of course he hasn’t been with a girl. He doesn’t even like girls. 

“Oh my god, you haven’t,” Louis says. “You’re just like the Virgin Mary over here.” The other boys laugh. “I mean Virgin Harry.” 

“Fuck off,” Harry mutters, his face a deep shade of red. He pushes his chair back and gets up to leave. 

Niall follows him. 

Harry is walking quickly down the hall. 

“Wait up,” Niall yells to him. 

Harry turns around and slows down when he sees Niall. 

They walk together in silence and sit down in a quiet space in the hallway. 

“You’re not gonna make fun of me, right?” Harry says quietly. 

“No, why would I?” 

“They always do.” 

“Just because you’re a virgin?” 

Harry nods. 

“That’s dumb.” 

“Yeah… so you are too then?” 

Niall swallows hard. No… he is not. 

“Um, I’ve never been with a girl before, no.” 

Harry stares at him, looks at him like he wants to ask him more. He doesn’t. 

“All summer long the lads were trying to get me to shag Barbara’s best friend Cara.” 

“And you didn’t?” Niall asks curiously. 

Harry shook his head. 

“Wasn’t interested,” he says so quietly that Niall almost misses it. 

They both stare at each other. 

Neither of them says anything for a bit. 

“So you really can’t come to the party then?” Harry asks. 

Niall shakes his head. “I really wish I could.” 

Harry frowns. “For Barbara?” 

“No… to see you.” 

Harry smiles. 

“Me?” 

Niall nods. 

Harry sighs contently. 

“I’m so glad I’ve met you. You’re not like everyone else.” 

Niall smiles. “Must be the Irish charm.” 

“That must be it,” Harry laughs. “Do you want to maybe hang out together instead then? We could order pizza and watch Netflix or something.” 

Niall forgets how to breathe for a second. 

He doesn’t know what to say. 

He _really_ , _really_ wants to spend time alone with Harry… maybe curled up on the couch… in the dark… together…

But Stella…

Harry doesn’t even know that she exists. 

It’s not that Niall’s hiding her from everyone. He doesn’t even know how to bring it up like ‘yeah a party is cool and all but I’m kind of gay and slept around with half of the football team and got pregnant last year and now I have a kid’? 

Niall would rather keep his school life and his home life separate. 

“I don’t think I can tonight,” Niall tells him. “I’ve got a lot of coursework to catch up on.” 

“Oh,” Harry says, face dropping. “Anything I can help with maybe?” 

Niall feels terrible. He likes Harry so much and he thinks that Harry might actually like him back. 

Niall shakes his head. “Don’t think so.” 

“Alright,” Harry says. “Maybe another time, yeah?” 

Niall smiles and nods, even though he knows he’ll probably make up another excuse. 

“Great, it’s a date then!” 

Niall can feel his heart beating in his ears. 

-&-

It’s not easy to avoid hanging out with Harry.

He asks Niall all the time. Niall is starting to run out of excuses. 

It’s Saturday and he’s just finished up his shift at work. He checks his phone before heading home. He has a text from Harry, of course. 

**come with me to footie xx**

Niall sighs. 

The football team, that he successfully avoided joining, is having a home game tonight. Harry isn’t on the team but their friends are. 

Niall doesn’t reply. He puts his phone away and drives home and tries to think of a good excuse as to why he can’t go this time. 

He still stuck by the time he gets home and he’s got four more texts from Harry. 

**itll be fun i promise x**

**please dont make me sit alone with the girls again x**

**all they talk about is beyonce :(**

**niallllll answer me x**

Niall sighs again and shoves his phone into his pocket. 

“What’s wrong?” his dad asks him. He’s sat on the couch while Stella rolls around on a blanket. 

“Nothing.” 

He sits down on the floor to be with Stella. 

“That face doesn’t look like nothing,” Bobby says. “Who was texting ya?” 

“Just Harry.” 

“The one you like?” 

“Daaad,” Niall whines. 

“I’m not deaf. He’s all you talk about.” 

Niall shrugs. 

He passes Stella her teddy bear that she’s tossed aside. She squeals when Niall gives it back to her. Niall smiles. 

“Something happen between you two?” 

“He just wants me to go out to the game tonight is all.” 

“So go, you could bring Stella with you,” Bobby suggests. 

Niall gives him a look. 

“You still haven’t told your friends that you have a baby?” 

“Not yet.” 

Bobby shakes his head. 

“What’s wrong with ya? How do ya think she’d feel if she knew that?” 

Niall frowns. He doesn’t understand why his dad has to make him feel worse than he already feels. 

“I don’t want it to be like before,” Niall says quietly. 

Niall lost of all of his friends when they found out that he was pregnant. Everyone stared at him with disgust. Everyone called him a slut. They would harass him. Ask him who the baby daddy was. He had no idea. He slept with a lot of guys; it could’ve been any one of them. None, of course, would even admit to sleeping with him though. 

Bobby understood all of this. Niall had come home in tears pretty much every day. 

“If they’re your true friends then they won’t care.” 

“That’s what you said before.” 

Bobby gives him a defeated look. He sighs. 

“Go,” he says. “I’ll watch Stella for you while you’re at the game.” 

Niall looks up at him. “Really?” 

Bobby nods. “What else have I got to do tonight than spend time with my favourite granddaughter?” 

Niall smiles. “Thanks.” 

“No after parties though. You come home as soon as the game is over.” 

Niall promises that he will. 

He texts Harry back and tells him that he’ll go. 

**ok i’ll come :) x**

**really?!!?!**

**ya ill pick u up if u want x**

**yes please :) see ya soon**

Niall smiles at his phone and slides it back into his pocket. 

“You should tell him,” Bobby says. 

Niall gives him a look again. 

“From when you’ve told me, he’s not like the others.” 

Niall considers it. 

He takes Stella back to their room to wait before he has to pick up Harry. 

He lies down on his bed and her on top of his abdomen, pulls up his legs so that she has something to lean against. 

“Wish I could take you with me,” Niall tells her. 

She gurgles; some spit comes out of her mouth. Niall wipes it away with his sleeve. 

“I think you’d like Harry,” Niall continues. “I like him quite a bit. He’s very quirky.” 

He thinks that maybe his dad is right. Maybe Harry wouldn’t mind that Niall has a kid. 

“Maybe you’ll meet him soon.” 

Niall spends the next while chatting away to Stella. When she falls asleep, he kisses her on the cheek and puts her into her crib. 

“I’ll see you later. I love you baby girl,” Niall whispers to her before quietly sneaking out of the room. 

He thanks his dad again for staying with Stella for him. Bobby tells him to have fun on his date. 

That definitely doesn’t make Niall any more nervous than he already was. 

-&-

Niall sits on the bleachers, his leg pressed right against Harry’s. It makes him feel warm inside.

He can’t concentrate. He’s not really paying attention to the game and he’s not listening to what the lads’ girlfriends are saying around him. 

His mind is just HarryHarryHarry. 

Everyone starts cheering. Niall realizes that their team scored a goal. 

The game goes into a short intermission after. The girls all leave Harry and Niall so that they can go see their boyfriends on the field. 

Harry turns to him. 

“I’m really happy that you came with me tonight.” 

Niall smiles. “Me too.” 

“Wish you’d go out more with me. I like spending time with you.” 

Niall feels his cheeks burn up. “Yeah?” 

Harry smiles and nods. 

“Wanna maybe go out to eat or something after the game?” Harry asks. “We don’t have to go with the others. We could just go somewhere on our own.” 

Niall wishes that he could. 

“I promised my dad I’d be home right after the game,” Niall tells him. 

“Oh, okay,” Harry says a bit solemnly. “Another time then.” 

Niall nods. That’s how it was with Niall, always ‘another time’. 

When the game ends, Harry and Niall says their congratulations to the lads and then head back to Niall’s car so that Niall can take Harry back home. 

They don’t say much at all on the ride there. Niall can just feel that he’s fucked up. 

Niall parks his car outside of Harry’s house. Harry doesn’t move to get out and instead turns to face Niall. 

“Can I ask you something?” Harry asks him. 

Niall swallows hard and nods. 

“Do you fancy me?” 

Niall can’t breathe. 

“Yes,” he manages to say. 

Harry breathes a sigh of relief and chuckles. “Okay, so I’m not imagining things.” 

Niall shakes his head. “No, I do. I really like you.” 

“I really like you too,” Harry smiles. “Like really, really like you. I wasn’t sure if you fancied me back though because you keep brushing me off whenever I ask you out.” 

Niall sighs. “It’s just –” He thinks about telling Harry about Stella, thinks about what his dad said. “I’ve just got a lot of things going on at home, I guess.” 

He decides to hold off on telling him for right now. Doesn’t want to scare him off. 

Harry just nods, doesn’t question him further. 

Niall knows that he’s pushing him away again. He doesn’t want to do that either. 

“Maybe, we could, um, hang out sometime soon though. You could come over to mine maybe...” 

Harry perks up. “Yeah?” 

Niall bites his lip and nods. 

Maybe it is time that Harry meets Stella. Maybe he’ll understand, maybe he’ll be okay with it. 

“I’d really like that,” Harry tells him. 

Niall smiles. 

Neither says anything for a minute. 

Harry takes off his seatbelt and Niall’s heart hurts when he realizes that Harry’s going to leave. 

He doesn’t though. He leans in towards Niall instead. 

Harry presses his lips against Niall’s. Niall kisses him back after a stunned second. 

When Harry pulls away, he wraps his arms around Niall, pulling him into a hug. 

“Please let me in, Niall,” Harry whispers into his ear. “I really do like you and I want to get to know you. Please stop pushing me away.” 

Harry pulls away and kisses Harry on the cheek. 

“Good night,” Harry says with a smile. 

“You too,” Niall squeaks out. 

He watches Harry walk up to his house. He waves to Niall and blows him a kiss before going inside. 

It takes Niall a few minutes to catch his breath and to steady his hands before he starts his car to go home. 

-&-

Things are a bit strange between Harry and Niall. They text the rest of the weekend and then see each other at school. Niall doesn’t really know what they are or what’s happening with them.

They don’t tell their friends about anything. They stare at each other a lot more. They don’t kiss though. That disappoints Niall. 

He knows that nobody knows that either of them is gay. He knows that he should probably talk to Harry alone to see what exactly is going on between them. He knows that he should introduce Harry to Stella. 

Niall finally gets the courage to ask him. It comes out of his mouth before he can take it back so now it’s all or nothing. 

“Wanna hang out after school?” he asks on Wednesday. 

Harry’s eyes widen and he smiles. “Really?” 

Niall nods. He’s trying hard to let his walls come down. It’s hard; they’re built pretty high up. 

Harry meets him out by his car after classes are over. 

“So I finally get to see where the mysterious Niall Horan lives?” Harry jokes around. 

“Yeah…” Niall says nervously. “Um, I just have to make a stop first.” 

“Yeah, no problem,” Harry smiles. 

Niall drives and tries not to have a heart attack while Harry fiddles with the radio. 

The daycare is finally in their presence. Niall thinks he might pass out as her turns into the lot. 

Niall slows the car and parks and Harry finally actually takes in where he is. 

Niall watches him look around, taking in the pastel colours and childish décor. “Is this a preschool or something?” he asks curiously. 

“Daycare,” Niall tells him, he turns off the car and starts to get out. Harry does the same. 

Niall goes around to the trunk and pops it open. It’s where he keeps Stella’s carseat. 

Harry stands quietly, looking confused, while Niall opens the backdoor to his car and set the seat up. 

He shuts the door and turns to head inside. Harry follows close behind. 

“Niaaall,” Lou calls to him with a big smile on her face. 

“Hey,” he says to her. 

“Who’s your friend?” 

“Harry, hi,” Harry introduces himself. 

“Lou,” she replies and then turns to Niall. “She was just having a little nap.” 

Niall nods and heads over to the nursery where Lou has the cribs set up. 

He smiles when he sees Stella. He picks her up. “Hi baby girl,” he whispers to her. 

Harry stands back a bit, watches Niall. 

“So, um, Harry,” he starts, “this is Stella…”

Harry takes a step closer to him. 

“Is she, uh…” Harry trails off. 

Niall tries to steady his breathing. 

“She’s mine,” he says quietly. 

Harry’s eyes widen. 

Niall doesn’t know what to do so he starts to walk to leave the daycare. 

“See you tomorrow, love,” Lou calls to him. “Nice to meet you Harry.” 

Niall gives her a quick smile and heads out the door. Harry follows him close behind. 

Niall opens the backdoor and gets Stella all buckled into her seat. He shuts the door when he’s finished. Harry is standing behind him. Niall can’t tell what he’s thinking. 

“So, um, I don’t know if you still wanna come over,” Niall says awkwardly. “I can drop you off at yours if you’d like.” 

Harry shakes his head. “I still want to come over.” 

“Really?” Niall asks wearily. 

Harry nods. 

Both of them get into the car again. 

Harry turns around in his seat and watches Stella. 

“So she’s really your baby?” 

“She came out of me, yes.” 

“Wow,” Harry whispers. 

Harry stays watching Stella all the way until Niall pulls in at his house. 

Niall gets out the car to get Stella out of her carseat and then the three of them head inside. 

“So I usually warm a bottle for her…” Niall tells Harry, leading him to the kitchen. 

“Okay, yeah,” Harry says. He takes a seat at the kitchen table. 

Niall starts fiddling around with her formula, still holding Stella in his arms. 

“Could I maybe hold her?” Harry asks quietly. 

Niall turns around. He smiles. “Okay,” he says. 

He passes Stella to Harry, smiles before turning back around to finish her bottle. This was turning out better than he expected it would. Niall guesses that his dad was right. He really needs to start listening to his parents more. 

Niall turns around after Stella’s bottle is ready. Harry is smiling at Stella while she pulls on his curls. 

He pulls a chair up close to Harry’s and Harry gives her back to him so that he can feed her. 

“She’s really beautiful,” Harry says. He looks at Stella in awe. 

Niall smiles and feels his cheeks burn up a bit. 

“It’s so weird seeing you like this,” Harry chuckles. “Never in a million years would I have guessed that you had a kid.” 

“You would if you saw me shirtless,” Niall says. “Got loads of stretch marks.” 

“Is that why you won’t change in front of everyone for PE?” 

Niall nods. 

Harry breathes out a sigh of relief. 

“What?” Niall laughs. 

“I had really started to think that maybe your dad was abusing you or something.” 

“What?” Niall asks with widened eyes. “Oh my god, no.” 

“I just thought, like, you always changed in the toilets, so I thought maybe there was something that you didn’t want me to see,” Harry explains, “and then, like, you could never go out but you also didn’t want me here. I was starting to get really worried.” 

“Christ…” That is not the impression that he wants to give people. “No, my dad’s pretty great. He let us move here with him.” 

“So you wanted to come here then?” 

Niall nods. 

Stella is done feeding so they move to the living room to get more comfortable. 

Niall sits Stella down on her blanket with her toys and then sits down with her. Harry sits down as well. 

Niall can tell just from looking at Harry that he wants to say something. 

“You can ask me anything,” Niall tells him. 

“What happened to the other father?” 

_Except that_. 

“He’s, um, not involved.” 

“Did you have a row or something?” 

Niall sighs. There’s no use in dancing around the issue. 

“I don’t know who exactly it is.” 

“What do you mean?” 

“I mean, like, there’s a few guys… you know.” 

“Oh.” 

Niall is mentally tearing himself to shreds. Harry must think he’s a slut too. 

“So you’re not a virgin then,” Harry says after a while. 

Niall feels so, so terrible. 

“No, I mean, I technically only said that I hadn’t been with a girl, but um, fuck… I’m really sorry Harry.” 

Harry shakes his head. “It’s alright. I just wish you had told me is all. About all of this.” 

“I know… I was stupid,” Niall says. He feels like crying. “I just was scared. I lost all of my friends last year.” 

“Because you got pregnant?” 

Niall nods. “Everyone turned on me. Said I was a slut. None of the lads I had been with would even agree to take a paternity test. I was literally all on my own.” 

Harry frowns. “That's horrible,” he says. 

“It was,” Niall replies. His eyes are tear-filled. He wipes them away with his sleeve. “I – I didn’t want that again when I moved here.” 

Harry nods. He crawls across the blanket, around Stella, and pulls Niall into a hug. Niall holds him tightly. 

Harry sits close to him after he pulls away. 

“I understand,” Harry tells him. “I wouldn’t have judged you though, just so you know. I’m not judging you now. I still really like you.” 

Niall doesn’t understand why or how. 

“Really?” is what he says though. 

“You’re still the same Niall with that Irish charm that I like so much,” Harry says with a smile, “and you’ve got a beautiful daughter.” 

Stella squeals at the compliment and both boys laugh. 

“I still want to date you.” 

Niall bites his lip. 

“Are you sure?” he asks. “I mean, Stella comes first and we share a room and stuff, and if we wanted to go anywhere, she’s gotta come with us because my dad works a lot…”

Harry nods. “I’m okay with that.” 

“I also don’t think I want to have sex for like a really long time,” Niall keeps rambling on. “Don’t want to risk getting pregnant again. One baby is more than enough for me right now.” 

“I’m okay with that too,” Harry laughs. “I don’t think I’m ready, as stupid as the lads might say that is.” 

“It’s not stupid,” Niall tells him. He rests his hand on Harry’s thigh. 

Harry smiles. “So is this happening then?” 

“Only if you’re sure…”

“I am.” 

Niall takes in a deep breath and then releases it. His heart won’t stop racing. 

“Okay.” 

Harry smiles and leans in close to Niall. 

Niall’s heart skips a beat when their lips touch. 

They kiss longer than the first time. Harry deepens the kiss. 

It’s interrupted when they hear little giggles. 

They pull apart laughing. 

“You’re sure about this?” Niall asks again, just to make sure. 

Harry nods. “I want this. I want you.” 

Niall smiles. 

“Okay.”

**Author's Note:**

> i hope you enjoyed my cute little narry oneshot
> 
> leave me a comment, let me know what you think :)


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